TwitterComm’s is a communications technique based around the popular micro-blogging website. I have been using this technique for a few months now as part of my wider communications strategy and have found it to be not only very effective at delivering information, but also popular with my customers.
What is TwitterComm’s?
In a nutshell; TwitterComm’s is about making sure that the information you communicate is properly targeted, relevant and delivered in palatable and bite-sized chunks.
The aim of TwitterComm’s is to improve the chances of the message you send being read and assimilated, rather than ignored or deleted.
Despite the name, I’m not suggesting you use Twitter as a corporate communications tool (even I’m not that much of a maverick), but I am suggesting you treat your emails as if they were tweets.
140 Characters or less
Ok, so getting across all you need to say in 140 characters or less might be a bit of a stretch, but there is a principle here: time is money.
Each email you drop into a customer’s inbox is a demand for their time. Their time is as precious to them as yours is to you. If you can’t keep the salient points to a few sentences, they’ll soon stop reading. Remember you can only lead a horse to water............ you can’t make it drink.
There is some good practice to be learned from Twitter about how to keep things concise. Twitter provides you the opportunity to expand your message by adding a link. If you are communicating a new policy, ask yourself if you have to send the whole thing or can you post it on your intranet and send a synopsis and a link instead? People will know the policy has changed and they can “click through” at a time which is convenient to them.
Here’s a top tip from me: Clicking through provides what Sales people call an up-selling opportunity. Can the link take people to a directory page where they can also browse other policies, news, etc, rather than straight to the policy itself.
Need to know, want to know, nice to know
Relevance, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. People will not thank you for taking up some of their precious time to communicate something which they feel does not affect them. They will forgive you an occasional transgression, but do it too often and they’ll start to treat your emails like spam.
You should think about who your information is relevant too. It might be easier to send out an email to the ALL_STAFF distribution list, but do people on the top floor really need to know about the broken toilet on the first floor? Can you send a targeted email to just the first floor?
Personally, I want my customers to know that when I send something to them, it’s relevant and/or, important to them. I try to apply the need to know, want to know, nice to know test.
If it’s something they need to know or have said they want to know, I send it to them direct. If it’s something that is nice to know, I try to put it where they can easily find it, i.e. on the intranet, notice board, next to the lunch menu, etc.
The power of positive thinking
It’s the nature of what we do, that most of the need to know information we communicate has a negative implication; failed air condition, car-park restrictions and out of service facilities are our bread and butter. But do we really have to be the harbingers of doom?
Your choice of words and language can drastically affect how your message comes across: are things broken or are they being repaired; are rooms out of use or are they being refurbished. Are improvement works taking place?
If you have been properly targeting your communications, you’ve already fought half the battle. Remember that broken toilet on the first floor? If that email went out to ALL_STAFF, then people on the top floor will have a perception that “the toilets are always broken in this place” even though problems with their facilities might be few and far between.
Strategic thinking
Whilst TwitterComm’s is a good way of delivering your message, It’s not without its drawbacks; some people will feel that you are not providing enough information or that they are not getting the level of interaction they would like. As an FM you have to play these things by ear and be prepared to be flexible to your customer’s needs.
However, used properly, I believe that TwitterComm’s can form a very effective part of your wider communications strategy. It enables you to engage quickly and easily with your customers in a way which lets them know that you understand that their time is valuable.
I couldn't agree more with what you've said Jason - facilities professionals are constantly communicating with their customers yet sometimes they forget to do it properly - badly-spelled emails/ notices, unnecessary all-staff emails and poor choice of words often do more harm than good and damage FM's reputation.
ReplyDeleteWe should see communicating with staff as a way to sell the FM message to our internal audience. Just because they’re a captive audience doesn’t mean that you don’t have to sell ideas in the same way as if you were trying to attract new customers. In many ways they may need even more attention as they may feel unappreciated or may be cynical about certain aspects of the organisation. So you need to put in the effort.
And also think about the language you're going to use - so often, as you mention, we are apologising for something such as the car park being out of action, or the loos broken. But sometimes we have good new to impart. For example, the restaurant being refurbished. But we still communicate this in a negative way. "Unfortunately the restaurant will be closed next week while it is being refurbished. Apologies for the inconvenience caused." Instead we should focus on the positives: "Great news - following staff feedback the restaurant is being refurbished to allow for a larger seating area, a new salad servery and improved lighting. It will be shut all of next week while these exciting works take place and will open on Monday 30th."
It’s also worth thinking about how and where to communicate with people. Yes a noticeboard is one option, but people actually have to go TO a noticeboard, they have to be proactive and busy people (ie the ones you want to reach) aren’t always that proactive about FM (unless their bin hasn’t been emptied).
You need to deliver your message at a time when it’s impossible to ignore - on the back of a loo door or in a lift are two great examples. People have nothing else to do than read your notice.
The only thing I disagree with is that social media is not good for corporate comms. I think it's a great opportunity - FMs can set up an internal or staff facebook page (separate from any official company page aimed at an external audience) and use it to communicate news such as canteen menus, building events, car-sharing schemes, etc etc. I like social media because it enables you to get your business message across to someone when they might be least expecting it – for example if they’re looking at their friends’ status updates on Facebook. In that way it has more impact.
Great to see FMs taking communication so seriously.
Thanks Cathy, I really appreciate your well thought out comments. Although I'm not sure many companies are yet ready to support social media as an "official" communications method, I suspect that we aren't that far away from "Corporate Social Media" - the intranet version's of Facebook, twitter, etc.
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